Thread cutter for box looms



.June 4, 19 9- D. s. B. BRIDGES THREAD CUTTER FOR BUX LOOMS Filed Sept. 25, 1927 Patented June 4, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DOCTOR S. B. BRIDGES, OF CLIFFSIDE, NORTH CAROLINA, ASSIGNOR TO CROMPTON 8c KNOWLES LOOM WORKS, 013 WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

THREAD CUTTER FOR BOX LOOMS.

Application filed September 23, 1927. Serial No. 221,589.;

This invention relates to improvements in weft'thread cutters for multicolor weft looms and it is'the general object of the inven- 'tion to provide a cutter to be located near 5 the shifting shuttle boxes and operative to selva'ge and will be carried forward as the Y cloth is woven until the idle shuttle again becomes active, at which time a loop will be formed on the selvage. In the case of ginghams withsmall checks these loops are not objectionable but on such fabrics as-towels andplaids it not infrequently happens that the loops will be of considerable length, especially towels having colored borders.

Whenever a change of shuttles occurs on a box loom two shuttles are involved, namely,

the one previously active must be moved to inactive 'posltion, and another shuttle, prev'i'onslv at rest, must be brought into play.

"The filling from the shuttle which becomes active must be attached to some relatively fixed point so that yarn may be paid ofi as I the shuttle is picked and for this reason any clamp which opens to receive a weft thread rnust be closed on the shuttle changing pick. After the first pick of the new shuttle the weft therefrom will be held by the fabric and the clamp may then be opened. It is accordingly an important object of my invention to provide a thread cutter and clamp which will operate subsequently to a change of shuttles.-

lVhen a cutter is employed on the shifting box end of a loom one of the problems presented is to prevent the cutter from acting on the thread from the active shuttle while the latter is in action and it is a further object of my present invention to provide a cutter which will act to cut the filling from an ,shuttle on a pick subsequent to the box changingpick and whiletheactive shuttle is on the end of the loom opposite the shifting boxes.

Box motions are usually controlled by some form of'pattern surface which determines the sequence in which the shuttles shall become active and it is a further object of my present invention to provide a cutter which shall be controlled by the pattern mechanism which? determines the o'rderin which the shuttles are brought; into" action.

Although my invention is particularly useful in connection with two-shuttle work such as towels having a white body and a colored border, yet-the invention is not limited in use to looms having only two shuttles. In this connection it is a more specific object of my invention to provide a pattern surface with auxiliary members which control the times ofoperation of the thread cutter.

' l/Vith these and other objects in View which will appear as-the description proceeds, my inventionresides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth in the-claims.

In the accompanying drawings wherein I have shown an embodiment of my invention,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of theloom having my invention applied there Fig. 2; is a top planview taken in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. '1, i i

Fig. 8 is a front elevation on an enlarged scale of the'cutter mechanism-looking in the direction of arrow 3, Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged end view of the cutter looking in the direction of arrow' l, Fig. 3 and showing the cutter closed,

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4 but showing the cutter open,

of arrow 6, Fig. 3 and showing the side of the cutting mechanism opposite that-shown in Figs. 4 and 5,

Fig. 7 is an enlarged top plan view taken in the direction of arrow 7, Fig. 3, and

Fig. 8 indicates part of thepattern surface which may be used in'confnection with I my invention.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1 it will 'be seen'that I have provided a loom frame 10 having-alay ll'provided at one end thereof wit shiitieg entleman 12 c n trolled as to their vertical position on the lay by a box rod B. The latter is controlled as to position by mechanism not shown herein, such as any of the well known box motions. The order in which the boxes shall become active is determined by a pattern chain 13 which is driven by means of a worm 14 deriving its motion from the top or crank shaft of the loom 15. The form of motion set forth herein is more particularly that known in the trade as the Crompton box motion, the timing of the device being such that the worm 14 gives the pattern cylinder 16 an angularmovement equal to one space on the pattern chain 13 every alternate pick of the loom, that side of the lay opposite the end shown in Fig. 1 being provided with a single shuttle box so that the shuttle must make two flights. The timing set forth herein is more particularly for a weft replenishing loom wherein one end of the lay is plain but I do not wish to be limited to this construction as the cutter will operate in connection with boxes as described hereinafter whether they be on one or both sides of the loom.

The lay 11 is provided with a beam 20 on which is adjustably supported a bracket 21 the lower end of which is provided with a slot 22 to receive securing bolts 23 whereby said bracket may be held in any one of sev eral adjusted positions longitudinally of the beam 20. The upper end of said bracket affords support for a shaft 24 extending through spacedears 25 in the upper end of the bracket. Amlamping and cutting element 26 is secured by means of set screw 27 to the shaft 24 and moves with the'latter against the action of a tension spring 28 the upper end of which is connected to one end of pin 29, and the lower end of which is fixed with respect to the bracket 21.

Said pin 29 extends through the shaft 24 and is held thereto by a set screw 30 and has an eye 31 which receives the upper hooked end of a cable-32. Said cable extends downwardly as indicated in Fig. 1 around upper and lower sheaves 33 and 34, respectively, and is led upwardly to have connection with one end of an indicator lever 35 which is pivoted to a fixed stud 36. At some point in the length of the cable the latter is provided with an adjustable element 32 by means of whichthe length thereof may be adjusted to compensate for stretching or shrinking.

The lever 35 lies over a portion of the pattern surface 13 which does not control the position of the boxes and said lever is operatedon by auxiliary pattern surfaces one of which is indicated at 37 in Fig. 8.

The cutter is disposed with respect to the cloth and the lay beam as indicated in Figs. 2 to 7 inclusive, said cutter opening so as to receive the thread from the rear. The movable cutter blade 40 is mounted on a hub 41 secured in adjusted angular position on the shaft 24 and cooperates with a fixed cutting edge 42 formed on the bracket- 21. The movable clamping pad 43 is designed to lie flat against an upper face 44 formed on the bracket to hold weft threads.

In operation the pattern chain will move to Present new pattern surfaces under the control levers of the box motion and so long as any given shuttle remains active there will be no necessity for severing the weft thereof from the cloth being woven and the auxiliary pattern surface will have low elements 38 under the lever 35, the latter being down and the spring 28 holding the cutter and clamp closed. As weaving continues, however, there will come a time when the active shuttle is to be changed, the main part of the pattern chain being built to effect such change, and the auxiliary part of the pattern surface being so built that the high element 37 will come into action on the pick after the shifting of the shuttle boxes, the high element lifting lever 35 which in turn will pull downwardly on pin 29 to move the cutter and clamp from the closed position shown in Fig. 4 to the open position shown in Fig. 5 against the action of tension spring 28.

Assuming that the upper box is in active position with the upper shuttle S on the left hand end of the loom as viewed in Fig. 2 and with bar of the pattern chain in control of the box motion, the upper shuttle will be picked to the right side of the loom as the lay reaches its midway position when traveling rearwardly.

On the second pick the shuttle will be returned to the left side of the loom but during this pick the pattern chain will move in the direction of arrow A, Fig. 8, to move bar 60 out of and bar 61 into con-. trolling position. Bar 61 carries a high chain element 62 which is to effect a shifting of the shuttle boxes. After the shuttle has arrived on the left end the boxes will begin to move upwardly to render the previously active shuttle idle and to bring into action the shuttle of the lower box. During this shifting of the boxes the filling laid by the shuttle is beaten into the fabric and a part thereof indicated at E in Figs. 2 and 7 extends from the left selvage toward the boxes.

On the third pick (or the one immediately following the change of boxes) the shuttle from the lower box will be picked to the right. thus carrying the active weft into the shed and out of the range of the cutter and clamp. As in the first pick the pattern chain will remain at restas the active shuttle moves away from the cutter and clamp, or to the right. When the lay reaches front center following this third pick the weft from the new shuttle will be beaten into the cloth and'the clamp may thereafter be safely opened.

On the fourth pick the new shuttle will return to the left and while the shuttle is still in flight toward the left the pattern chain will again move to bring bar 63 into cont-rolling position. This bar has the auxiliary roll 37 and as it comes under lever 35 the latter will rise to open the cutter and clamp.

On the fifth pick the shuttle will move to the right and on the following or sixth pick the shuttle will return from the right to the left. During this pick (while the shuttle is moving toward the left) the pattern chain will again move to bring bar 64 into controlling position. This bar 54 is without an auxiliary roll 37 so that the lever 35 will fall and the spring28 will close the cutter and clamp. The closing of the cutter occurs while the lay is in rearward position so that the end-E extending from the selvage to the idle shuttle will lie in the cutter and the end extending toward the said idle shuttle will be clamped, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 7. At this time-also the active shuttle is on the right side of the loom moving toward the left so that the thread therefrom is out of the range of the cutter.

On a subsequent pick, when the shuttles are again to be changed, the operations above 7 described will be repeated. When the boxes are changed rather frequently there will be no need for the cutting and the pattern chain will not be provided with the auxiliary rolls 37. The roll 37 may be used only where desired, such as when a shuttle is to remain idle for a large number of picks.

'From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a weft cutter and clamp for the box end -of the loom which is operated in timed relation with the movements of the pattern mechanism. It will further be seen that the cutter and clamp are controlled by the pattern surface, an auxiliary element being employed to determine the times at which the cutter and clamp shall act. These times may be chosen by the designer of the pattern chain independently of the pattern surfaces which control the movement of the boxes.

Having thus described my invention it will be apparent that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is: V

1. In a loom having shifting boxes at one end thereof, a thread cutter and clamp on that end of the loom adjacent the shuttle boxes, and means to operate said cutter and clamp only upon a completion of a shifting of the shuttle boxes at such times only as the active shuttle is on the opposite side of the loom fromthe shuttle boxes, said cutter and clamp to cooperate with the filling extending from an idle shuttle in one of the shifting boxes.

2. In a loom having shifting boxes at one end thereof, a thread cutter on the shifting shuttle box side of the loom, and means to operate said cutter only upon a completion of a shifting of the shuttle boxes to cause the latter to act on the filling extending from an idle shuttle in one of the shifting boxes while the active shuttle is on the opposite side of the loom. i

3. In a loom having shifting boxes at one end thereof, a thread cutter located on that side of the 100m adjacent the shifting boxes, means to operate the cutter only upon a completion of a shiftingof the shuttle boxes to act on the filling extending from an idle shuttle in one of the shifting boxes while the active shuttle is on the opposite side of the loom, and a clamp to' hold the end of filling which is cut from the idle shuttle in the shifting boxes.

4. In a loom having shifting boxes at one end thereof, a thread cutter located on that side of the loom adjacent the shifting boxes, a thread clamp located between the cutter and the shifting boxes, and means to operate the cutter and clamp only upon a completion of a shiftingof the shuttle boxes to cause the same to act on the filling extending from an idle shuttle'in' the shifting boxes while the active shuttleis on the opposite side of the loom.

5. In a loom having shifting boxes at one end thereof, the thread cutter located on the shifting shuttle box side of the loom,

a thread clamp to hold the thread extending from an idle shuttle in the shifting boxes, means to operate the clamp only upon a completion of shifting of'shuttle boxes, and means to hold said clamp closed until after the idle shuttle becomes active 6. In a loom having shifting boxes at one end thereof, the thread cutter located on. the shifting shuttle box side of the 100m, a thread clamp tohold the thread" extending from an idle shuttle in the shifting boxes, means to operate the clamp Ionlyupon a completion of shifting of shuttle boxes, and means to hold said clamp closeduntil after there has been a shift in the shuttle boxes.

7. In a loom having shifting boxes atone end thereof, a thread cutter on the shifting shuttle box side of the loom, a thread clamp to hold a severed filling from an idle shuttle V in the shifting boxes, and'means'to hold said clamp in thread clamping position until a pick after the idle shuttle has become active and the filling therefrom has been beaten into the fabric being woven.

8. In a loom having shifting boxes at one end thereof, a thread clamp located on that side of the loom adjacent the shifting boxes to hold the severed thread extending from an idle shuttle in the shifting boxes, and means to hold said clamp in thread clamping position until a pick after the idle shuttle has become active and is picked to the opposite side of the loom.

9. In a loom having shifting boxes at one end thereof, a thread cutter to act on the weft extending from an idle shuttle in the shuttle boxes after the shuttle becomes idle, a clamp to hold the severed thread during the time that the shuttle remainsidle, means to operate the clamp only upon a completion of shifting of shuttle boxes, and means to open the clamp to release the filling from the idle shuttle after the latter has become active and the weft therefrom has been incorporated into the fabric being woven.

10. In a loom having shifting boxes at one end thereof, pattern mechanism to determine the sequence of movements of the shifting boxes, and a filling thread cutter located at the shifting shuttle box end of the loom and operatively connected to the pattern mech anism to be operated by the latter in timed relation with the shifting of the shuttle boxes.

11. In a loom having shifting boxes at one end thereof, a thread cutter and clamp located at that side of the loom adjacent the shifting shuttle boxes,'pattern mechanism to determine which shuttle shall be active, and operative connections between the pat tern mechanism and cutter and clamp to operate said cutter and clamp in timed relation with the shifting of the shuttleboxes.

12. In a loom having a plurality of shifting shuttle boxes any one of which may be moved to active position and at least one of which is in inactive position, a thread cutter dependent for its operation upon the completion of a shifting of the shuttle boxes and acting in timed relation with the shifting of the shuttle boxes to sever the thread extending from an idle shuttle in a shuttle box in inactive position.

13. In a loom having a plurality of shifting shuttle boxes any one of which may be moved to active position and at least one of which is in inactive position, a thread cutter and clamp dependent for its operation upon the completion of a shifting of the shuttle boxes and acting in timed relation with the shifting of the shuttle boxes to cut and clamp a thread extending from an idle shuttle in a shuttle box in inactive position.

14,. In a loom having shifting boxes at one end thereof, pattern mechanism to control the sequence of movements of the boxes, a cutter and clamp located on that-end of the loom adjacent the shifting boxes, and connections between the pattern mechanism and the cutter and clamp to cause the latter to sever and clamp a thread extending from the shifting shuttle boxes, and mechanism including a lever to be operated by an element on one of the bars of the pattern mechanism to act-uate'said cutter in timed relation with the shifting of the shuttle boxes.

16. In a loom having shifting boxes at one end thereof, pattern mechanism to control the sequence of movements of the boxes, said pattern mechanism comprising a series of bars havin attern surface elements a lever located above the pattern surface to cooperate with an auxiliary pattern element, a

thread cutter located adjacent that end of the loom having the shifting shuttle boxes, connections between the lever and the cutter whereby the cutter is opened when the auxiliary' pattern surfacejelement raises the lever, and means to close the cutter when the auxiliary pattern element. moves from under thelever; 1 e i 17. In a loom having'shiftin'g boxes at one end thereof, patter-n mechanism to control the sequence of movements of the'boxes, said pattern mechanism comprising aseries of bars having pattern surface elements, a lever located above the pat-tern surface to cooperate with an auxiliary pattern element, a thread clamp located adjacent that end of the loom having the shifting shuttle boxes, connections between the lever and the clamp whereby the clamp is opened when the auxiliary pattern surface element raises the lever, and means to close the clamp when the auxiliary pattern element moves from under the lever. Y I

18. In a loom having shifting boxes atone end thereof, a combined cutter and clamp locatedadjacent that end of the 100111 having shifting shuttle boxes, means to open the cutter and clamp on the second pick after a shifting of the shuttle boxes, and;

means to close'the cutter and clampon the fourth pick after the shift in the boxes.

19. In a loom having shifting boxes at one end thereof, a pattern mechanism to deter mine the sequence of movements of the shifting boxes and having a movement on alternate picks of the loom, a combined thread cutter and clamp located at that end of the loom adjacent the shifting boxes and operatively connected to the pattern mechanism to be open on a pick following a shift of the shuttle boxes and to be closed on a subse quent pick.

20. In a loom having shifting boxes at one end thereof, a pattern mechanism to determine the sequence of movements of the shifting boxes and having a movement on alternate picks of the loom, a combined thread cutter and clamp located at that end of the loom adjacent the shifting boxes and operatively connected to the pattern mechanism to be open on a pick following a shift of the shuttle boxes and to be closed on a subsequent pick when the active shuttle is on that side of the loom remote from the shifting boxes.

21. In a loom having shifting shuttle boxes at one end thereof, a lay, a thread cut-' ter mounted on the lay at the shifting shuttle box side of the loom, and means to operate said cutter to cause the same to act on the filling extending from an idle shuttle in the shifting boxes While the active shuttle is on the opposite side of the loom.

22. In a loom having shifting shuttle boxes on one end thereof, a lay, a thread cutter located on the lay at that side of the loom adjacent the shifting shuttle boxes, a thread clamp mounted on the lay and located between the cutter and the shifting boxes, and means to operate the cutter and clamp to cause the same to act on the filling extending from an idle shuttle in the shifting shuttle boxes While the active shuttle is on the opposite side of the loom.

23. In a loom having shifting shuttle boxes in one end thereof, a lay, a thread cutter located on the shifting shuttle box side of the loom and mounted on the lay, a thread clamp mounted on the lay to hold the thread extending from an idle shuttle in the shifting shuttle boxes, and means to hold said clamp closed until after the idle shuttle has become active.

24. In a loom having a plurality of shifting shuttle boxes any one of Which may be moved to active position and at least one of Which is in inactive position, a lay, a thread cutter mounted on and moving back and forth With the lay and dependent for its operation upon the shifting of the shuttle boxes and acting in timed relation With the shifting of the shuttle boxes to sever the thread extending from an idle shuttle in ashuttle box in inactive position.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

DOCTOR S. B. BRIDGES. 

